1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wide field of view optical magnifying system and more particularly to an eye loupe having a magnification power of 10 (10.times. magnification).
2. Description of Related Art
Visual inspection tools are used in several industrial field to inspect components for defects which cannot be seen with the naked eye. Many industries have stringent magnification specifications which must be met in order to be within desired specifications. In the soldering industry and especially in the aerospace circuit board industry, the solder connections must be inspected to meet desired specifications. Visual tools, such as magnifying eye loupes, are used to increase the apparent size of the viewed solder connection. This increase in size better enables an inspector to see and determine whether or not the solder connection meets desired specifications. Other applications will become apparent which utilize magnifying devices for inspection where inspection with the naked eye is inadequate.
Prior magnifying optical systems having 10.times. magnification exist in the field. These prior magnifiers generally have one to five lens elements and have several disadvantages. The prior eye loupes generally are not true 10.times. magnifiers and generally have a magnification power of less than what is specified on the magnifier. The magnifiers generally have a small field of view, which causes severe eye strain in just a short period of time. The viewing distance between the user's eye and the object is generally very short. This close viewing range causes the user to hold the viewed object in close proximity to his face and sometimes touching his nose. Generally, the prior eye loupe lenses have distorted imagery as the view traverses from the center to the periphery of the field of view. The prior lenses are somewhat heavy, have poor resolution, and have chromatic aberrations. Also, prior magnifiers generally limit the eye resolution along the axis of the magnifier. Thus, there is a need in the art to provide an optical magnifying system, having a wide field of view at a 10.times. magnification, which enables the operator to easily control the system during use.